Breaking news!!!!! Sony to sell Epub only

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Amalthia

I get distracted by inconsistencies in layout as a result page numbers not in the same place on every page bugs the crap out of me. That and the lack of justification. If there was an option to turn off the page numbers I'd be more tempted by epub but there isn't. To me having page numbers ghosting over the text of the story is unprofessional looking and would never pass muster in a published paper novel. I'm not sure why it's considered okay in ebooks though?

Also, I hate losing screen space for page numbers when there is already a bar at the bottom of my PRS-505 to display page numbers and is far more accurate than the numbers on the side margin. I want to know how many screen turns I have left. I think most people reading on their devices are reading fiction not referrence manuals.

Someday it may become more common to read reference ebooks and at that point they should still have the option to turn off the margin page numbers because that would actually help both sets of users without annoying anyone.

I've found I don't like justification any longer, and that's a stance I'd never thought I would take. I really hesitated before buying my 505 thinking that a lack of justification would ruin the experience. It was shocking to find that it didn't affect me at all, and now I like my ragged right margin

I do believe you're right though, we don't need the number at all, or the number of pages for that matter, which harks back to a physical object. Amazon uses a percentage, I believe, and I think that is much more in-fitting with reading in a digital age.

Again, and I think others have said this, it's not ePub but the ADE software that is responsible for all these 'niggles'. If Sony have their heads screwed on (I think they do after recent announcements) they'll give us more options in the ADE software used in readers, so that we can tailor our reading experience individually.

[Madam Broshkina]

I was checking the specs for the 600 at the Sony site and noticed that ePub is rated at 6800 page turns compared to 7500 for BBeB books. Why the difference?

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

What I don't understand in this whole argument is the comparison to the real world and the digital. I don't read newspapers or magazines in print, haven't for a long time, the web versions are suited to a different medium and I wouldn't want them trying to replicate the physical medium. What works in the physical world, especially design wise, cannot be rammed into the digital where 're-flow' and 'fluidity' are the cornerstones of the design ethic. Websites, as with ePub have to degrade and upgrade gracefully. PDF cannot do this, and I don't see a point in the future where this function (the most important for one-file-many-viewers) will be replicated.

So humanity will discard the vast bulk of the centuries old art of typography and bookmaking in the transition to electronic books (arts which are, by the way, totally and completely about making reading a more pleasant experience), for the sake of people being able to change font-sizes arbitrarily and for the sake of publishers not having to make multiple files for different sized devices?

And, short of the eBook market eventually growing up sufficiently that it starts using PDF or something just like it, custom-created for the standard screen-sizes, all other possibilities basically tend toward such discarding.

- Ahi

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

I've found I don't like justification any longer, and that's a stance I'd never thought I would take.

Of course... unless you are reading professionally prepared PDFs custom made for your reader, you've probably not seen anything even approaching proper justification on your device--possibly ever.

- Ahi

[MerLock]

Here is a snippet from an article on Engadget. I believe they paraphrased part of the NY Times article linked previously.

"Moreover, Sony is aiming to nix its "proprietary anti-copying software in favor of technology from the software maker Adobe that restricts how often e-books can be shared or copied." Once the switchover takes place, books purchased in Sony's online store will be readable on any device that supports EPUB, one of which will be Plastic Logic's forthcoming e-reader."

I was just wondering if that statement is correct or not? The books sold in the EPUB format at Sony's store will only be readable on any device that supports Adobe EPUB, and not just any EPUB if I'm thinking correctly.

Stanza supports EPUB but I'm not certain it'll be able to read EPUB's bought off of the Sony store.

[kwjones]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Again, and I think others have said this, it's not ePub but the ADE software that is responsible for all these 'niggles'. If Sony have their heads screwed on (I think they do after recent announcements) they'll give us more options in the ADE software used in readers, so that we can tailor our reading experience individually.

So you're thinking they may eventually make a setting that allows the user to choose to use page numbering on/off or percentage, and choose the justification settings? That might be pretty nice if they could do that.

[krischik]

Originally Posted by ahi

The huge cuts that various middlemen get make up 55% of the cost of most physical books. eBooks, at their most expensive, should still be less than half the cost of the physical book... with everyone borderline productive (i.e.: not just involved in moving boxes and books around the country) still getting the same cut.

Or am I wrong?

Ebooks need to be distributed as well - just that in the Internet it is called a Web-Shop. And Web-Shops usually take a 30% cut.

Martin

[mtravellerh]

Originally Posted by Madam Broshkina

I was checking the specs for the 600 at the Sony site and noticed that ePub is rated at 6800 page turns compared to 7500 for BBeB books. Why the difference?

LRF is prepaginated, ePub is not

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by ahi

So humanity will discard the vast bulk of the centuries old art of typography and bookmaking in the transition to electronic books (arts which are, by the way, totally and completely about making reading a more pleasant experience), for the sake of people being able to change font-sizes arbitrarily and for the sake of publishers not having to make multiple files for different sized devices?

And, short of the eBook market eventually growing up sufficiently that it starts using PDF or something just like it, custom-created for the standard screen-sizes, all other possibilities basically tend toward such discarding.

- Ahi

No, they won't discard, but they will adapt. HTML 5, Canvas integration with postscript, SVG graphics, are all up to spec now and will be adopted in the coming years. Your 'pdf' vision will possibly be reached, but not with PDF which is an old technology created for a very specific purpose. I've already read in the last few days, in several different places, that "ePub is the mp3 of reading", it has a cartload of momentum, and as with mp3 quality is not the arbitrator of adoption, ease of use and device support is.

Simply put if I have a choice between buying one product that I can use now and gives me a satisfactory experience across many different scenarios, why would I not chose that option? Why would I want a PDF for my phone and one for my reader and one for a 8" reader and then another that fits my 32" monitor and another that fits my 10" in-car monitor and so on...doesn't make sense to me.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by kwjones

So you're thinking they may eventually make a setting that allows the user to choose to use page numbering on/off or percentage, and choose the justification settings? That might be pretty nice if they could do that.

I'd hope so. Who knows what they've done with their firmware, but if it were me and I'd been watching places like Mobileread, I would have taken everything into account. You have a set default, then offer lots of other options to power users/tinkerers and the like. Again, this is a hope, I don't have any information that says this will happen.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by krischik

Ebooks need to be distributed as well - just that in the Internet it is called a Web-Shop. And Web-Shops usually take a 30% cut.

Martin

Granted. 30% is a ripoff though, since the cost of offering a given book on your website approaches zero.

- Ahi

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by ahi

Granted. 30% is a ripoff though, since the cost of offering a given book on your website approaches zero.

- Ahi

Did you see my post about the cost of ebooks?

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by ahi

So humanity will discard the vast bulk of the centuries old art of typography and bookmaking in the transition to electronic books (arts which are, by the way, totally and completely about making reading a more pleasant experience), for the sake of people being able to change font-sizes arbitrarily and for the sake of publishers not having to make multiple files for different sized devices?

And, short of the eBook market eventually growing up sufficiently that it starts using PDF or something just like it, custom-created for the standard screen-sizes, all other possibilities basically tend toward such discarding.

- Ahi

I agree with Moejoe there. E-book are not meant to be fancy. They are meant to be readable and confortable. Css in ePub is enough for fanciness.
Pdf is for printing rendering, not for e-books.

[krischik]

Originally Posted by ahi

Granted. 30% is a ripoff though, since the cost of offering a given book on your website approaches zero.

Have you got a paypal account? Read up what it cost to receive money. And yes, Credit cards, debit cards etc. pp are just as bad.

Rip off is 30% + CC charges + payment only when $250 are outstanding (That's Handango - but they don't sell books).

Martin.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

has already reached the bottom of Page 10! This thread is on fire!

Are you aware that you can set in your profile (Edit options) how many messages you want per page?
This was the reason I registered (a looooong time ago) - I wanted to view more messages per page.